Or even Friday’s drama leading up to today’s contest between No.1-ranked USC and No. 5-ranked Ohio State at the Coliseum.

As two weeks of buildup reached a conclusion Friday, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel made the surprising announcement star tailback Chris Wells would miss the game because of his injured foot.

“He’s been getting treatment 15times a day,” said Tressel after Friday’s walk-through at the Coliseum. “I guess if looks could kill he fought me. I just told the team because it’s important our guys know what we thought we should do.”

Wells was listed as doubtful when the Buckeyes left Columbus on Thursday but USC expected him to play.

“In his history, he’s been banged up a bunch and found a way to play,” USC coach Pete Carroll said.

Not this time. Wells, considered a frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy, will take some luster off a game many consider the biggest marquee matchup of the entire season.

“It’s unfortunate,” USC defensive coordinator Nick Holt said. “We would love to play against the best guy.”

If that wasn’t enough, USC contributed its own drama. Cornerback Shareece Wright was charged Friday with a felony resisting a police officer at a party in Colton last weekend.

Wright could not be reached for comment but told USC officials he told police he was unhappy some friends were arrested at the party. Carroll said he was aware of the situation but did not comment. Wright is available for today’s game.

“I’m more trying to get the game over with because everyone is making it bigger than it is. It’s not a Super Bowl,” he said. “I’m hoping to get it over with and see what happens. People want it to be the Super Bowl.”

What also concerns Carroll is that the Buckeyes’ second-leading rusher is freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor. He played in spot duty the first two games and USC does not expect to see him a lot but he could be dangerous.

Earlier in the week, USC showed film of Pryor in high school and concentrated on his fumbles to show the defense the importance of trying to strip the ball.

“There’s no question they have other guys and a veteran offensive line,” Holt said. “They’re really dangerous because of the offensive line. They’re big and if you get into them too much, they’ll grab you. They’re pretty sticky. We can’t get mauled by these guys.”

Even the cornerbacks need be on guard for those brief moments Pryor might come in and give some flashbacks of Vince Young, Dennis Dixon, Ell Roberson or any other running quarterbacks that troubled the Trojans in the Carroll era.

“If he scrambles 10 yards, then I’ll worry,” Wright said. “I don’t want to think about him running and losing the receiver. That happened to me against Washington last year. (Jake) Locker ran out. I bit up and the wide receiver got behind me.”

But the Buckeyes will rely more on fifth-year senior, Todd Boeckman, who led the team to two straight BCS title game appearances.

“I knew the last couple years this game was on the schedule,” Boeckman said. “It’s one of those games you don’t (see) every year. We’ve been looking forward to this game for a long time now.

“We have to play a lot better (than in the first two games) if we’re going to go to USC and win.”

The reality is for all the matchups, USC (1-0) appeared completely confident, much like the past two Rose Bowls when the Trojans defeated Ohio State’s Big Ten-rival Michigan.

Conventional wisdom is USC will be too fast for the Buckeyes. But the flip side is Ohio State’s pride is at stake after two drubbings in the championship games.

Another factor is Carroll usually gets USC to play near its best in big games and there’s also that 39-1 record at the Coliseum.